FOUR-WEEK DELAY NO HINDRANCE TO NETFLIX, REDBOX

The four-week delay in releasing new DVDs that studios have imposed on Netflix and Redbox has apparently not hurt either the online or the kiosk operator, according to Eric Wold, an analyst with Merriman Curhan Ford in New York. As reported by Home Media magazine, Wold, in a note to clients, observed that The Blind Side, the first major release to be affected by the delay, had ranked 5th and 3rd on the Rentrak weekly rental chart in the first two weeks before it became available on Netflix and Redbox, but it quickly rose to No. 1 in the first week after the embargo. “We believe this is a positive indicator that demand for The Blind Side remained strong and consumers (for the most part) were willing to wait the 28 days until it was available in the two channels that provide both lower price points and greater convenience,” Wold wrote.